Ellinor wasnât surprised that Balfour would believe her. "Hereâs the deal, Mr. Howard. About an hour ago, despite my repeated refusals, they came."
She calmly stated her side of the story and told him, "They were going shopping and asked me to babysit their kid. He was asleep. I never laid a finger on that child. As for the bruises on him..."
After hearing Ellinor's words, Haille angrily said, "Balfour, do this to Ellinor?"
Balfour glanced at Patricia, who was holding her child. Ellinor glanced at Balfour, looking for reassurance.
"Yes," Ellinor calmly nodded.
"As soon as I entered the room, the child was scared, crying and trying to run away. If we had come back a bit later, who knows what would have happened?"
"Child abuse is a serious crime!" Haille's gaze bore into Ellinor. "Do you have any proof?"
"I didnât touch the child!" Ellinor insisted, her voice steady.
Patricia was sobbing. "Ellinor, why did you do this to my child?"
Balfour squinted. "Ellinor, explain yourself."
Ellinor pointed at Haille. "Plus, the surveillance camera outside recorded everything. I never touched Ms. Howardâs child once. As soon as I entered the room, I started recording on my phone to ensure that I had evidence."
Hearing Ellinor's explanation, Balfour patted his pocket and retrieved his phone. He played the recording.
The phone was indeed recording. Balfour then handed the phone to Ellinor and said, "It seems Ms. Mendoza is innocent."
Ellinor continued, "Here, you can see the recording and confirm the sequence of events. The playback will show everything with no gaps."
She handed the phone back to Balfour, who reviewed the footage carefully. The recording clearly showed the entire process of Ellinor babysitting without any inappropriate behavior.
The video evidence absolved Ellinor, and the misunderstanding was cleared. Patricia and Haille looked remorseful as they realized their mistake.